


You Are Loved

by ywhiterain



Category: The Originals (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 09:17:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10590996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ywhiterain/pseuds/ywhiterain
Summary: Alternatively titled ‘Hope Teethes on Elijah’s pocket watch’.Hope is pretty sure Elijah’s avoiding her. She means to change that





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [icebluecyanide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/icebluecyanide/gifts).



Hope had the heart of a warrior. That’s what her father told her and that’s what she wanted to believe was true. The blue lights, the hollow, the children, the magic contained by her bracelet - all of them added up to something terrible. Hope was pretty sure that she would need that warrior’s heart.

And her first battle was with her Uncle Elijah.

She was pretty sure he was avoiding her. He does that sometimes, Aunt Rebekah had told her before she’d read Hope a bedtime story the night before on Skype. He can be quite the martyr, Uncle Kol had added while Rebekah fetched a book from the car, it’s bloody annoying.

So she took a deep breath and curled her hand into a fist.

We are stronger together, Mom always told her, don’t ever forget that.

Hope knocked on the door in front of her. The noise she made was soft and she’d meant to knock more firmly but something was stopping her. It didn’t matter. Vampires had enhanced hearing.

Uncle Elijah opened the door. He was dressed like a prince in a fairy tale. He always dresses like that Mom had told her when Hope had noticed that he was dressed up in all of the pictures she was shown.

“Is there something I can do for you?” he asked.

Hope squared he shoulders and looked up at him. Directly in the eyes. Like a warrior would. “I want to play.”

“If you’re out of water colors, I’m sure Niklaus wouldn’t mind if you used his acrylic paints,” Uncle Elijah said.

“No.” Hope shook her head. “I want to play with you.”

“Oh,” he said, looking surprised. He opened his door all the way and gestured for her to come in. “I’m afraid I probably don’t have anything in here that would be of interest to you.”

“Grown ups have the best toys,” Hope said.

And then she took her surroundings in. It was like a museum. The bookshelf was perfectly organized - no book stood out of place. The bedding was perfectly done - not haphazardly put together like in Hope’s. In the corner was a record player that she wanted to touch but was afraid she would break.

Mom had told her that he liked music. But probably only boring grown up music. He’d probably think Hope’s Taylor Swift CDs were silly.

“Do sit down,” Uncle Elijah said, pointing at the table as he walked over the bookshelf.

Hope carefully pulled out one of the chairs and sat down. She was hyper aware of fact that it and the table were older than her, probably older than even Mom. A pocket watch caught her attention - it looked rusted.

She looked up. Uncle Elijah was still pouring over the books. Heart racing, she grabbed the watch and peered closer. It wasn’t rust. They were scratches and what looked like teeth marks. She brushed a finger across one of them and wondered why he hadn’t replaced it.

“You did that.”

She dropped the watch. It hit the ground. For a second, she thought it would break. Or worse, the imperfections on it would spread and ruin the floor.

Uncle Elijah picked it up before sitting down next to her. “You cut your teeth on it.”

“I did that?” Hope said. She leaned in and looked again. “When I was a baby?”

“You were no ordinary baby,” he said. He started to smile. “We tried teething rings and and amber. But the second you pulled this out of my pocket, you would have nothing else.”

“Sorry!”

He laughed. It was a nice sound. “Don’t be. It made you happy.”

“I shouldn’t have wrecked it,” Hope said.

He reached out. Hesitated. Pulled back. And then silence fell between them. But she had a warrior’s heart. So she took a deep breath and forced herself to say, “I can help you find a new one.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Uncle Elijah said. She sunk down and stared at the perfect floor. “Hope.” She looked at him and he scooted over. “I should have been clearer. You don’t need to help me replace it because I don’t want another one.”

“But it’s all scratched up,” Hope said. He set the watch back on the table. “Mom said you like everything perfect!”

“I do,” he said. He reached over again but this time he didn’t pull back. Instead, he pushed some hair behind her ear. “Perhaps to my detriment. This watch was an easily replaceable tool before you left your mark on it. It’s meaning to me comes from my love for you. That’s when it became perfect.”

Once more, she looked at the watch. “Dad said we should put our love in people.”

“He’s right,” Uncle Elijah said.

“Then why don’t you ever want to be with me?” Hope asked.

He looked a little like she’d hit him. It made her feel bad, but she stood her ground. “I figured that you would want to spend as much time with your father as possible.”

“That didn’t stop anyone else,” Hope said. “Aunt Freya watches cartoons with me and Aunt Rebekah reads me stories all the time and Uncle Kol tells me jokes. Mom said you’d do anything to protect us and I thought - ”

Uncle Elijah kissed her forehead. “You’ll find I struggle with going after things that I want. But I implore you to always keep in mind that I would love nothing more than to know you and watch you grow up into an extraordinary woman.”

“Are you scared?” Hope asked.

He looked at the watch. Then he looked at her. “I suppose I am.”

She hugged him. “I was too. But not anymore.”

He wrapped his arms around her. His grabbed a handful of her shirt and picked her up, pulling her in close. She could hear his heart beating. It was a warrior’s heartbeat. She hoped hers sounded the same.


End file.
